ATRA VETOSUS – Even the Dawn No Longer Brings Hope

The Tasmanian melodic black metal force Atra Vetosus will unleash this 3-track EP in late January and this is a bleak delight to yours truly as it transcends the conventions and barriers of the aforementioned genre and by incorporating some subtle progressive influences and post-metal tendencies into the fiery mix.

Words such as epic and majestic immediately come to mind and these songs are expertly crafted. Apart from there being a certain weight and depth to the compositions, they also contain plenty of wicked nuances and shades, and things move more or less seamlessly from cold and aggressive outbursts to mellow and somewhat brooding passages. The EP is a layered piece of work and it comes across as vital-sounding and forward-looking yet strangely familiar little opus. The riffs are meaty, the artwork that adorns the CD version is evocative, the keyboards provide some interesting textures, and nothing is overblown or out of place on the disc as such. There is a good flow to the tracks and they intensity over time so that when they reach their dramatic denouement it feels pretty damn climactic. The production could have been a bit more powerful and an added dose of bottom end would not have hurt, but overall, this is a great slab of melancholy music with a wintry atmosphere to it. Fans of early Borknagar, Mistur, or those classic Swedish melodic black metal records from the 90s definitely ought to check "Even the Dawn No Longer Brings Hope" out, but I could easily see this one appeal to fans of metal music in general. Recommended!

ATRA VETOSUS – EVEN THE DAWN NO LONGER BRINGS HOPE (smarturl.it)